A proper debate in the Commons on what a government can and cannot do over Brexit is important

Had I known we were going to give a foreign ­company a blank cheque in case the EU raised tariffs against their cars I would have scrapped my Leave vote as the cost would undo any financial gain from quitting Brussels.

If such a subsidy was extended to the rest of the car industry it would cost us £1billion a year. What about all the other manufacturers in Britain, from planes to machinery to household appliances to finance corporations? The queue of businesses with their hands out would be a mile long.

Supposing newspaper owners, already in a parlous ­position, said that unless their buying of imported paper was subsidised because of the 14 per cent collapse of the Pound against the euro they would shut down, throwing thousands out of work. What then?

Furthermore, didn’t Cameron and Co investigate what might be the legal consequences of a No vote. Did none of his clever Old Etonian mates say the judges could vote this down? Or did he want to leave a big mess at No10 for his successor to clean up?

This is the biggest political clanger of all time. Worse than Suez. Worse than Iraq. With the court’s decision I expect the Cabinet to split very seriously and the likelihood must be an early General Election.

She and husband Kris Thykier are now raising money for two hi-tech lasers that can treat her daughter's scars

Claudia Winkleman speaks about daughter’s shocking Halloween accident

Matilda, now ten years old, is her old self but Claudia and her film producer husband Kris Thykier wanted to give something back.

So they set about raising money to purchase for the NHS two hi-tech lasers that can treat the scars.

And I’m delighted to reveal that family and friends have raised an astonishing £400,000 to buy those machines.

Among the money-raising activities was a six-mile dawn walk where one of the strollers was Piers Morgan.

I looked up the giving page to see Apprentice star Lord Sugar had made a handsome contribution but couldn’t help keeping his Twitter “feud” with Piers going by saying: “Be good if you take a long walk off a short Pier.”

For those families who may need those machines in the future I would like to say a big thank you to Claudia and Kris.

You've rallied for Omran

I OWE you a quick update on where I am with the prints of the artwork I commissioned of Omran, the bewildered little boy in Aleppo whose house was bombed by the Russians.

So far 80 readers have sought the prints, right, by Jolyon Madden but before seeking your £35 payments and your addresses I wanted to make sure the money would get through to Omran.
On that basis I met with two representatives of the Syria Campaign, a non-political organisation simply wanting the best for the ravaged country. They weren’t sure how the money could be distributed as eastern Aleppo is a war zone and the banks aren’t functioning properly (a bit like NatWest).
They are going away to see if the White ­Helmets might be a safe conduit for the cash.
Will report back in the next ten days.

The best of times

FROM feedback I know you enjoyed the examples I gave in last Friday’s column from Patrick Kidd’s anthology of 50 years of The Times Diary (published by HarperCollins), so here are two more.

As a fan of puns I enjoyed this letter in Country Life from a reader in Kent: “While walking through the bluebell woods at Godinton I came across an old microwave oven dumped close to a lane. I wonder if this is the first cooker of spring.” (2015).

This one from an ad in the Evening Echo in Basildon: “Smoker’s chair, solid ash.” (1976).
All good fun.